Tencent is reportedly in talks to acquire SuperPlay, the Israeli studio Playtika bought last year, in a deal valued at roughly $1.0–1.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The move would allow Playtika to shed the sizable earn‑out obligations tied to its SuperPlay acquisition—obligations that have ballooned as the studio’s growth accelerated.
Tencent in talks for SuperPlay
Sources say negotiations center on a transaction that would cover the upfront purchase price while leaving the buyer responsible for the deferred earn‑out payments owed to SuperPlay’s founders. Playtika acquired SuperPlay in November 2024 for $690 million in cash plus an earn‑out that could reach $1.25 billion depending on 2025–2027 performance. Given SuperPlay’s trajectory, those contingent payments are now in the hundreds of millions.
An asset that became a liability for Playtika
SuperPlay’s commercial success—driven in large part by a new solitaire title developed in partnership with Disney (estimated at roughly $300 million in annual revenue)—has sharply increased Playtika’s earn‑out exposure. SuperPlay posted $573 million in revenue for 2025, about 67% above the earn‑out reference threshold. As a result, Playtika raised its estimated payments to the founders by $734 million in its 2025 accounts and by $829 million in its Q1 2026 reports. Each upward revision increases accounting charges and weighs on net income, even though the adjustments are excluded from EBITDA.
Impact on cash, leverage and strategy
Selling SuperPlay would also improve Playtika’s balance sheet. The company faces approximately $2.3 billion of debt maturities in 2028–2029 and is concerned refinancing could be much costlier than when that debt was issued. SuperPlay‑related obligations are recorded as investing cash flows, and their revaluations hit the income statement directly: Playtika booked an about $309 million loss in Q4 2025 largely for this reason. The company has also cancelled its dividend to preserve financial flexibility.
Operationally the picture is mixed: legacy Playtika franchises have softened—Slotomania has stopped publishing performance figures and Bingo Blitz posted quarterly declines—yet the group reported $745 million of revenue in Q1 2026, up 10% year‑on‑year, and raised its 2026 guidance (revenue now expected between $2.75–2.85 billion; EBITDA between $750–770 million).
What the acquisition would mean for Tencent
For Tencent, a global gaming leader and investor across the industry, acquiring SuperPlay would be a strategic bolt‑on: it would add a high‑growth casual/mobile studio with a proven hit and valuable IP partnerships (including Disney) to Tencent’s portfolio, deepen its footprint in Western and Israeli gaming ecosystems, and provide predictable revenue streams from strong live‑ops titles. The deal would also highlight Tencent’s continued interest in consolidating global mobile‑gaming assets, though any transaction would likely be weighed against regulatory considerations and geopolitical sensitivities around cross‑border tech deals.
Sources: people close to the discussions; Playtika public filings and financial reports.
